Roberto Martinez has confirmed Lacina Traore will complete a loan move to Everton from Monaco if the club can successful obtain a work permit for the Ivory Coast striker.

Traore, who is currently recovering from a hamstring problem, had looked destined to join West Ham and he had been granted a work permit ahead of a move to Upton Park but Everton moved in for the 23-year-old last Friday.

He underwent a medical at the club’s Finch Farm training base on Sunday – Martinez is confident nothing will show up in the results to scupper the deal – and now the move hinges on whether Everton can also obtain the necessary documentation at a hearing on Tuesday.

Spotted: Everton target Lacina Traore was snapped with the club's driver (left) in a supermarket on Sunday

Tall guy: Traore, pictured playing against Terek Grozny, hasn't made a first-team appearance since October

Martinez, whose squandered an opportunity to move into the top four with a 1-1 draw at West Brom, has accepted it could prove to be a difficult process but he believes the case Everton will argue for Traore will have the strength to pass.

‘Lacina is a player that I really, really like,’ said Martinez. ‘He is someone who I feel will fit in really well to the role that we want him to come in to. There are a couple of hurdles that we need to get through. The work permit is something that we need to look at.

‘If we can get through that, he would be a player we would be very keen to add to the squad. He has had a recent soft tissue problem. It is not too bad. He is just a few days away from being fit. Every work permit is difficult. I have been through a few.

New boy: The sighting of 6ft 8in Traore, pictured after joining Monaco on a permanent deal from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala earlier this month, has increased hopes the striker will join the Blues on loan

‘We have got a very strong case to show why we need Lacina with us. He’s a very talented footballer, he is only 23 and he has already had a couple of moves, near enough for £30million. But every work permit is difficult and we will try our best to get it. The permit is the only barrier to the deal.’

This was Everton’s ninth draw of the campaign and it proved to be a frustrating evening. They dominated the opening 45 minutes, took the lead through Kevin Mirallas but lost their way after the break, conceded an equaliser to Diego Lugano the lost the hamstrung Seamus Coleman.

Martinez was far from upbeat about the injury to the Republic of Ireland international and it appears it will rule him out of next Tuesday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield; that would be a huge blow as Everton are already without Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley.

Doubts: West Ham stalled on a move for Traore after concerns about a hamstring injury the striker is carrying

‘He felt his hamstring a little bit,’ Martinez confirmed. ‘We have to be cautious before we assess him but it is not a good sign. Seamus is in fantastic moment of his career and would never come off the football pitch. We will try to get him back as quick as we can.’

Everton, at least, have Leighton Baines back operating close to the levels that have become the norm but Martinez would not elaborate when the club will be in a position to announce that he has signed a new long-term deal, preferring to extol his virtues as a player.

‘Everyone keeps asking me that,’ Martinez said with a wry smile.

Sign him up: Martinez would not elaborate on talk of a new contract for Leighton Baines

‘You know what I think about Leighton. He is a phenomenal footballer, he is in the best moment of his career and he is someone that we want to keep at the club.

‘These conversations take a long time and we want to keep them quiet behind the scenes. When there is something to announce, we will do that. Leighton Baines is one of the best left-backs in European football, if not the world.

‘He is an icon for our football club. There is nothing to announce but we are working as hard as we could to extend his stay for a long time.’